Fasting and prayer for the journey

21Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the Ahava River, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a straight path for us, for our little ones, and for all our possessions.

22For I was ashamed to ask the king for troops and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, but his strength and his anger are against all who forsake him.”

23So we fasted and sought our God concerning this, and he answered our plea.